It is to be appreciated that any discussion of documents, devices, acts or knowledge in this specification is included to explain the context of the present invention. Further, the discussion throughout this specification comes about due to the realisation of the inventor and/or the identification of certain related art problems by the inventor. Moreover, any discussion of material such as documents, devices, acts or knowledge in this specification is included to explain the context of the invention in terms of the inventor's knowledge and experience and, accordingly, any such discussion should not be taken as an admission that any of the material forms part of the prior art base or the common general knowledge in the relevant art in Australia, or elsewhere, on or before the priority date of the disclosure and claims herein.
In carpentry, cabinet making and the general building Industry, the construction materials used are frequently required to be fitted together as well as fitted to existing structure such as floors and walls. Accurate fitting of materials to one another in particular the fitting to existing structure(s) requires craftsman's skill. Accordingly, well fitted materials and components may be representative of quality workmanship. Accurate fitting of building materials and components to one another may be of particular importance to interior elements, such as cabinets, because, they are viewed from close range. Owners and users of interior components such as cabinets prefer the appearance of accurately fitted together joints and seams. Where bench type units are fitted to the floor, the accuracy of the fitting has additional importance as it influences the function of the bench top in terms of being level as well as the aesthetic appearance.
When fitting joinery in domestic and commercial structures for example, the installer may need to overcome the imperfections and undulations in the surfaces the joinery is being fitted to. For an acceptable fit, the installation of cabinetry to existing structure such as floors, walls and ceilings for example may require the installer to transcribe the profile of a reference surface of the existing structure to the cabinetry being fitted. This profile is often transcribed onto the target part of the cabinetry to be fitted to the reference surface. The cabinetry is then formed (i.e. cut, planed, or otherwise trimmed) to follow the transcribed profile and thus accurately fit the reference floor, wall or ceiling surface so there are no substantial gaps.
There are a number of ways to transcribe a reference surface profile onto the target part of a cabinet for Instance, but these may be done on an ‘adhoc’ basis and there are currently few commercially available tools to do this.
In one example, when fitting a kick rail (the base rail that cabinets such as cupboards, benches, entertainment units and shelving sit on), the top edge is generally required to be level as this is the foundation for the cupboards and bench tops. To fit a kick rail, ordinarily it is placed on the ground and a spirit level is used to level it from left to right and from front to back. If the floor is not level, the kick rail is held in a temporary level position by the installer using a series of fillers/packers of different thicknesses placed under the kick rail to hold it in this level position. The thickness of the gap between the floor and the kick rail may vary depending on the undulations and levelness of the floor.
The next stage requires the installer to transcribe the floor undulations and levelness (its profile) onto the kick rail. This is usually done by first finding the maximum gap between the floor surface and the underside edge of the kick rail. Depending on the state of the floor and length of the kick rail, this gap could be from about 1 millimeter to over about 25 millimeters.
The installer may then find a material or a combination of materials/packers to equal or slightly exceed that maximum gap. For example, if the maximum gap is 8 millimeters, the installer may use a small block of about 5 millimeter thick craftwood and 3 pieces of about 1 millimeter thick laminate=approximately 8 millimeters total height. The installer then places these packers on the floor so they are almost in contact with the vertical surface of the kick rail. The installer then places a pen/pencil or a knife blade on top of the pile of packers with the end making contact with the vertical surface of the kick rail. In one hand the installer holds the pen/pencil or knife blade and in the other he/she drags the pile of packers along the floor surface. The packers rise and fall as they move along the undulations of the floor, with the pen/pencil or knife blade transcribing an image of these undulations onto the surface of the kick rail.
This is done along all target “fitting” surfaces of the kick rail including corners and internal corners that are to come into contact with the floor. The installer may then use an electric planer or jigsaw to cut the kick rail to the profile lines that have been marked thereon. Once completed the kick rail now conforms to the floor undulations and the top of the kick rail provides a substantially level structure for the cupboards to sit on.
The above process may also be used when fitting a vertical seen end panel to a wall. A similar process may also be used for fitting bench tops up against walls and filler panels between cupboards, ceilings and walls.
When fitting a bench top to the surrounding walls, the bench top is set so it is substantially parallel or square to the front and/or ends of the cupboards. There may be an overhang over the front of the cupboard depending on the look and application trying to be achieved. Once the bench top is set in the desired position, the same process of finding the maximum gap is utilized, but this time the gap is between the edge of the bench top and the wall. Packers are again used to make up the same thickness as the maximum gap and these are slid along the wall surface with a pen, pencil or knife blade resting on them and marking the wall profile to the bench top, where it may be trimmed to fit the wall.
Another component used in cabinetry that may need to be fitted to walls, floors and ceilings is a filler strip.
Rather than having a cabinet carcass butt directly up against a wall, a filler strip is often, utilized for a cleaner finish, thus allowing it to be fitted to the shape of the wall floor or ceiling. The use of a filler strip also prevents the binding of adjacent doors on the wall surface. In most cases this can be fitted to an already levelled part of the cabinetry, as fitting filler strips is one of the finishing touches to the cabinet fitting process. The filler strip is generally fixed to parts of the cabinetry, e.g. a cabinet carcass that is to be fixed parallel to a wall, generally within about 16-20 millimeters of the wall. With the cabinet carcass sitting on a level kick rail, it is slid until the scriber or filler strip butts hard up against the wall. If there are no gaps, the cabinet carcass is then fixed to the kick rail and/or wall. However if there is a gap, the maximum gap is found, packers are used to obtain the same or slightly larger measurement as the maximum gap, and then the pen, pencil or knife blade is used to transcribe the wall profile onto the filler strip so that it can be trimmed to fit the wall. After cutting, the filler strip is fixed to the cabinetry carcass and the carcass is now ready to be fixed to the kick rail and wall.
A further application where a profile may be transcribed is in relation to skirting boards. Generally when fitting skirting boards to a wall and floor, the skirting board is cut to the desired length, then nailed to the wall where it meets the floor. If the are undulations in the floor, pressure may be placed down onto the skirting board to fit these undulations, then it is nailed and held in this position. However if the undulation are sharp angles or too high or deep, the skirting board needs to be trimmed to fit these undulations.
The above methods may be used on a wide variety of materials including and not limited to timber, particle board, Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF), laminate, stone, stainless steel and linoleum.
There are numerous problems with the above related art devices and methods including:    1. If a pencil is used it may become blunt, therefore leaving a wide line to cut to which leads to inaccuracy. Further, with a pencil becoming blunt as the image is transcribed it may cause the line to change thickness and thus after the ability to trim to the correct part of the line.    2. The packers are prone to move and slide in relation to one another particularly if there is more than one material being used Generally, movement of packers while marking prevents accurate transcribing of the reference surface to the target surface.    3. There are many moving parts, for instance, a number of packers, a pen/pencil or knife blade & the use of two hands, leading to inaccuracy.    4. Two hands are required to transcribe the profile. It is difficult to get both hands moving together while holding different things together, especially due to differing frictions being caused by different pressures being applied by the two hands.    5. If a pen or pencil is used, it is difficult to see the transcribed profile line on dark coloured surfaces, making the line hard to cut to.    6. When trimming the material to be fitted, dust lands on the target surface covering the pen/pencil line. In wiping the dust off, accidental rubbing off of the line can also occur.    7. The separate nature of the multiple packers and pen/pencil means the installer may not be able to perfectly retrace the same path on the reference surface, so the profile must be transcribed correctly the first time it is attempted.    8. Marking the profile becomes difficult when getting close to a corner due to its two handed use.    9. The process may be unsafe, particularly when the user may be standing on a ladder to mark high vertical seen end panels for example, as it requires the use of both hands therefore not allowing the installer to use one hand to steady themselves on the ladder.    10. A further safety, issue arises when using a knife or blade to transcribe an image of the reference surface. It can become and OH&S issue when using an exposed sharp blade in close proximity to the hand holding the packers. This becomes dangerous when the hand holding the packers may stop due to the packers getting caught and stopping by way of catching onto imperfections on the reference surface. Further, the hand holding the sharp blade may continue along and make contact with the hand that has stopped.
It can generally be stated that the problems associated with transcribing a profile of a reference surface onto a target surface relate to; the initial locating and then holding of the marking point, fine adjustment of the position of the marking point, range of locating and adjustment of the marking point, ergonomics, accuracy, stability, avoiding scratching or damaging the reference surface, and marking the required profile into internal corners.
With respect to locating, adjustment and holding of the marking point, because the maximum gap distance between the reference surface and the edge of the target surface is variable depending on the topology of reference surface, it would be desirable if the requisite distance between the marking point and the reference surface Could be easily located and/or adjustable within a reasonable range and then have the relative separation between the marking point and reference surface being capable of being held in a constant fashion at that distance whilst the act of transcribing proceeds.
With respect to fine adjustment, an ability to finely adjust the distance between the marking point and the reference surface is beneficial as it may lead to a more accurate final fit once the material is trimmed to the reference line.
Regarding the range of adjustment, an ability to transcribe a profile where the maximum gap between the reference surface and the edge of the target surface is less than about 25 millimeters is beneficial as this distance may be required depending on the reference surface and related art methods to date are not considered reliable for transcribing in such small separations.
With respect to ergonomics, it should be noted that transcription of the profile is mostly done in close physical proximity to the reference surface itself. The reference surface may be difficult to access and necessitate working in a prone position or upon access equipment (for example, a ladder), therefore it would be desirable to provide a means of transcribing which provides ease of use and without the need for substantial dexterity be that with one or two hands.
It is considered that inaccuracy in the transcribed profile may occur partly as a result of the unwarranted pivoting of the marking point of related art devices relative to the reference surface during use.
Reference surfaces may have a damageable finish, such as paint, so they may be susceptible to undesirable marking or damage by related art transcribing devices.
The target surface, or formations proximate thereto, or the reference surface, or a combination thereof, may form a corner which hinders prior art devices from marking the profile completely and/or accurately.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/458,801 (Publication No. US2007/0033886A1), to Friegang, discloses a clamping and holding system for a filler strip, prior to it being scribed. It can not be used for kick rails and is designed to be used in conjunction with the device of U.S. Pat. No. 5,013,196 being an offset router and guide wheel, discussed below. It is considered that the clamping and holding device of Friegang may also be used in conjunction with a traditional method of scribing, as shown in FIG. 5 of Friegang. A further drawback with this holding tool is that it requires the trim strip to be machined with a tongue and groove shape due to the design of the holding tool. The disclosed holding tool is not suitable for use with cabinetry units which do not utilise a machined tongue and groove to affix the trim strip to the cabinet.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,013,196, also to Friegang (Friegang II), has a number of drawbacks, particularly the complexity and subsequent cost of the device which may put it out of range of many potential users. Also, this device may require a lengthy set-up and a high degree of skill to operate. It may not be able to get into corners or close to floors or ceilings and thus may not be able to be used in a complete vertical action from the top of the filler strip to the bottom. Because it includes a power tool, use of this device entails inherent risks for the operator, and little tolerance for error exists due to the device's scribing and cutting in one motion. This leads to a risk that, if a deep trim is made, the tool may “bite” into the material being trimmed and causing irreparable damage.
A large proportion of cabinetry uses filler strips that are simply held into position by a number of screws. These screws are normally placed from the inside of the carcass through to the outside of the carcass and into the side of the filler strip that butts up against the side of the carcass. The screw is then covered by a screw cap. In the case where the joinery may be seen on the inside, where a clean look of no screws being visible is desirable, the cabinet may be manufactured in the factory with the filler strip permanently fitted to the unit. This is then trimmed while still fitted to the unit, thus negating the need for a clamping and holding system for a filler strip as disclosed.
Granted U.S. Pat. No. 7,231,720 to Allen discloses a scribe for carpentry having an “edge follower upon which is mounted a sliding and stoppable instrument holder”. The edge follower of the disclosed scribe is pointed in nature, and is thus unsuitable for use as a surface follower (i.e. a surface such as a floor, wall or ceiling surface). It is considered this is due, firstly, to a tendency of the marking instrument to rotate about the tip of the pointed edge follower as disclosed which may make the profile line transcribed by this tool inaccurate. Secondly, the edge follower may cause an undesirable mark if used as a reference surface follower. The structure of the device, which requires the use of a separate pen or pencil, may also prevent it from being able to be adequately adjusted in circumstances in which a small offset distance between the marking point and target surface are required.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,894,329 to MacDermid discloses a scribing tool with a “flat faced” line 69 column 1 lower surface and “scribing points” line 30 column 2. However, it is considered the discrete adjustment by way of the progressively stepped nature of the possible height positioning of the scribing points of the disclosed tool means the user has limited ability to control the height of the scribing point, and may thus unnecessarily waste material due to having to configure the device of MacDermid to a height that will generally exceed the offset height required. Small offset distances approaching 0 mm may, also not be achievable with this device. The MacDermid apparatus also suffers from the drawback that, when used in relation to a target surface that forms a corner either with itself, with other localised formations or with the reference surface, scribing right into an internal corner is not possible. The MacDermid tool may not be able to scribe all the way into an internal corner.
Other shortcomings of this device include the risk of the user accidentally marking the target surface with the incorrect marking point which is at a different height to the marking point intended to be used. Also, the method of setting the height of the marking point, which requires disassembly of the device, is time consuming and may allow parts of the device to become misplaced.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,254,855 and 6,941,605 B2 to McCreesh, disclose a multi-purpose hand tool for use by a carpenter/tradesman which can be used to “mark a piece of material 80 which needs to be fitted against an uneven surface” line 3 col 16. The tool disclosed features a pointed surface following portion and thus may be susceptible to error due to rotation by the user. The structure of the tool disclosed suggests a minimum distance between the reference surface and the marking portion of the tool of approximately 25 millimeters. This limited range of adjustability gives the tool a correspondingly large minimum material off cut, making it inefficient.
Two hands are required to adjust and operate the disclosed tool due to its elongated nature and the requirement for an independent marking or scribing element such as a pen or pencil.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,465,230 to Nikander defines a metal and wood-working trades tool capable of scribing a profile, in which the surface follower portion consists of a “scale blade” line 26 column 1. The blade like shape of the following portion makes it particularly unstable in the plane normal to the target surface and thus the marking point is likely to lift off the target surface during use. The tool may not have the capability to reference off a wall, floor or ceiling and transcribe a line onto cabinetry.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,786,274 to Early discloses a scribing tool suited for use in relation to “floor and wall coverings, countertop and sink coverings”. The “tracing point” line 71 column 1 and “divider points” line 2 column 2 disclosed are either pointed or dual pointed. Use of the pointed portion as disclosed could lead to inaccuracy for the reasons already identified with other prior art devices. Use of the dual pointed follower portion may suffer from the same lack of stability of the blade-like follower disclosed by Nikander above. The dual pointed portion of this disclosure has the potential to cause damage to a floor or wall surface if the disclosed tool were used to transcribe the profile of this type of reference surface. The disclosed tool features a large minimum offset between the tracing point and the scribing point making it unsuitable for use with a small offset distance approaching 0 mm. The scribing point is relatively short in relation to the width of the blade of the tool, which may prevent the scribing point form being able to mark the profile completely and accurately onto irregular target surfaces.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,458,208 to Ruger discloses a form of scribing tool described as an “ellipsograph” line 38 column 1, which is suitable for the scribing of circles, “flattened ellipses” line 42 column 1 and straight lines. This tool is used in scribing a circle or ellipse onto a worksheet and is not suitable for transcribing a contour of a reference surface onto a target surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,656,744 to Decker discloses a scribe tool for use by carpenters to mark the profile of an irregular wall onto a wall panel. The user “grips the handle and the pencil and holder, and, while keeping the bar horizontal holds the point against the irregular wall” thus the tool requires two hands to use. The apparatus disclosed is thus unsuitable for use in circumstances where the user requires at least one hand to maintain balance over the range of the action with the tool, i.e. when working upon a ladder or in a prone stance on the floor. The pencil may easily lose its sharp point and thus accuracy. Also, being an individual component, the pencil may become separated from the device and misplaced.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,509,876 to Neiss (Neiss I) describes a scribing tool suitable for use in scribing flooring material. The minimum offset distance between the reference surface follower and the scribing point of the disclosed tool appears to be approximately 75-100 millimeters making this tool unsuitable for scribing for example a kick rail frame which may only be 75 millimeters high. The large diverging prongs of the reference surface follower of the Neiss I disclosure may mitigate damage to the wall or floor surface. However the width of the prongs of this device may prevent the scribing point from marking the profile all the way into the corner of an internally cornered reference surface. Also, the reference surface follower does not follow the reference surface where it contacts the target surface. This may lead to inaccuracy as the transcribed line is not based on the reference surface where the target surface actually comes into contact with it.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,553,812 to Cohen discloses a scriber directed at scoring linoleum with parallel lines via marking points or needles which are “exposed to the view of the operator in order to provide better working conditions and better accuracy” line 15 column 1. The device has a single point of contact with the reference surface and is thus unstable, permitting angular rotation resulting in inaccuracy of the scribed line. This tool may not be capable of scribing offset distances from 0 mm to approximately 3 mm, due to the reference surface follower design. An ability to mark these distances is important in providing an acceptable fit between the reference surface and the target surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,875,664 to Diner discloses a tile scribing tool for use between a wall reference surface and a tiled floor target surface, where the scribing tool “is of a width equal to the width of one of the tiles”. This tool marks tiles with a cutting line that allows for infilling one row of tiles between the tile cutting line and the wall. The disclosed device, having a large, fixed offset distance between the wall follower wheels and the scribe point, is not suitable for profile transcription related to carpentry trades.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,581,179 to Eldh discloses a pattern scribing tool suitable for marking and cutting flooring materials. The distance between the “scribing point” line 24 col 2 or “sharpened scoring blade” line 18 column 2 of this disclosure is non-adjustable in relation to the “guide nub” line 9 column 2 portion. This may make the tool unsuitable for use in transcribing a surface profile onto target surface due to the unnecessary waste of material that would result as a consequence of not being able to adjust the distance between the tool's guide nub and scribing point.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,274,727 to Neiss (Neiss II) discloses a scribing and cutting device having a surface following portion that has a small area bearing against the reference surface, making the tool susceptible to rotation and thus inaccuracy. Further, the surface following portion, similar to other related art devices described herein, leads to instability of the device. The scribing point of the disclosed device is not able to be adjusted to be close to the reference surface, limiting the applicability of the tool. The width of the device prevents the scribing point from being able to mark all the way into the internal corners of a target surface. The overall length of the device suggests two hands may be required for use. The length requiring the use of two hands and number of moving parts may lead to inaccuracy due to a lack of rigidity.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,296,232 to Drain discloses a scribing tool for wall coverings. The tool disclosed scribes a mark upon the curved internal radius formed when a wall covering material, such as linoleum, extends around an internal corner. The range of adjustment of the scribing point is very limited and curved which means it may not be capable of contact with the target surface at a variable level, making the tool unsuitable for use in carpentry and cabinetry related applications.
Published Japanese Patent Abstract JP05146557 to Katsumi discloses a tool which is considered to have a fixed distance between the reference point and marking point and is unlikely to be able to scribe distances between 0 mm and approximately 100 mm. Further, it is considered that the tool disclosed in the abstract of Katsumi cannot scribe into a corner. In particular, contact members 22 and 24 rotatably supported about support point 20 are effectively hinged by a pin to the main body of the tool, therefore affecting the distance between the marking point and reference points, causing the distance to vary if not held steady albeit that the contact members 22 and 24 seem to be biased forward by what appears to be a spring member 28. Katsumi also lacks any facility for precision incremental adjustment. Moreover, the marking point of Katsumi appears offset to its reference point(s), therefore not necessarily giving a true image of the reference surface onto the surface to be marked.
Published UK Patent application GB2403924 is another attempt to record the profile of a surface. The tool disclosed in GB2403924 is not capable of scribing small dimensions, for example, 25 mm or less. The device also requires two hands to operate to keep it steady and, lacks stability, and therefore accuracy.
Generally, current methods used for scribing In the building Industry, for example in the field of cabinet making, have adopted “adhoc” methods that have had a number of draw backs. These include:    1) Problems with scribing into a corner.    2) Methods require the use of two hands, which prevents the user from having a free hand to assist with personal stability when in a prone position or able to hold and stabilise materials being scribed.    3) Inability to retrace a previously scribed line to make it more defined.    4) Difficulties in visualising a scribed line on dark coloured materials.    5) Dangerous methods used including the use of sharp exposed blades in close proximity to an unprotected hand.    6) An unstable reference surface follower, which leads to inaccurate reference lines being scribed onto the target surface.    7) Some methods damage the reference surface.
Furthermore, there is a need for a scribing tool that:    1) Is easy and simple to use by an untrained person.    2) Can be used with one hand, allowing a free hand to assist with personal stability when in a prone position or able to hold and stabilise materials being scribed.    3) Has the ability to scribe into internal corners.    4) Scribes from 0 mm upwards.    5) Has significant stability.    6) Allows user to accurately retrace a previous scribed line, permanently marks target surface.    7) Leaves a permanent and visible line on dark surfaces.    8) Prevents damage to reference surface due to the design of the reference point of the tool.    9) Visibly depicts the measurement height of the scribing tip from the reference surface.    10) Has multiple scribing tips.